In the Clearing in the Wood
by Ris Fallon
Summary: Bewildered by Edmund's betrayal, Aslan's confusing prophecy, and the continuous onslaught of snow, the Pevensies are just as startled by the Doctor's sudden appearance as the Doctor is by finding three children alone in the woods during a winter storm.


**Author's Note:** I wrote this for my Tumblr account (link found on my author profile) and enjoyed writing it so much that I thought I'd share it here on FF. It's doubtful I'm going to write more for it (as it would require writing the Doctor into all of the events in Chronicles of Narnia), but I hope you enjoy this little one-shot regardless. It was a lot easier to write than I expected, so I hope I'm not fooling myself in thinking I did the characters justice. But you can be the judge of that, dear readers. I hope you enjoyed the DW Christmas special (which obviously inspired my thinking about this), your own holidays, and have a wonderful new year!

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><p>"Ah," the Pevensie children cried.<p>

"Ah," cried the Doctor. The TARDIS had landed in the middle of a strange wood, and the Doctor had begun to think that this planet was largely uninhabited (or at least that this part was). Just as he'd been wondering if he oughtn't turn around, he came into a clearing — and stumbled upon three children with wild looks of fright in their eyes.

There was a flurry of confusion as Peter threw one arm out to catch Lucy and the other grappled for his sword, Susan's fingers twitched for an arrow, and the Doctor tossed his torch into his left hand and grabbed his sonic screwdriver. The next moment that anyone was aware of, the three children were huddled together and Peter had his sword pointed at the grown man. His hands were shaking violently.

"Who are you," Peter demanded, trying very hard not to stammer. "Where did you come from?"

"Lower your sword, Peter," Lucy begged him, trying very hard not to sound as though there were tears in her eyes even though there were. They stung in the cold. "Please!"

"Answer him," Susan said, sounding much more confident than her brother despite the fear in her eyes. "Who are you?"

"It's alright," the Doctor said. He moved his hand towards his pocket to put his screwdriver back, moving even more slowly when he saw Peter's sword raise in alarm. I'm the Doctor." He looked from Peter, to Susan, and finally to Lucy. "I'm unarmed, see? Now, if you don't mind, could you please lower your sword? I don't like swords."

"Where did you come from," Peter repeated. Despite his youngest sister and the Doctor's requests, he didn't lower his sword. If anything, he held it even more confidently than before. He was terrified and cold and so very lost despite Aslan's words of a prophecy and his gifts, and that made him dangerous. He himself might have been unaware of how dangerous he was, but the Doctor knew. The Doctor understood desperate men. He was one himself.

"Just beyond the wood there," the Doctor lied, waving his hand lazily towards one of the many endless waves of trees around them. "And you?"

"Liar," Peter said. "The beavers told us there are no other humans in Narnia."

"Quite right," the Doctor said, although this itself was news to him. "You see, I'm not human."

"Rubbish," Susan scoffed.

"What are you then," Lucy asked curiously, ignoring her sister's glare and Peter's warning squeeze on her shoulder. "You _look_ human."

"_You_ look Time Lord. We came first," the Doctor corrected, winking at her. She smiled, but Peter's frown only deepened.

"What's that," Peter asked.

"Are you from Narnia, though," Lucy asked.

"No. Visiting, just like you."

"But you said you came from beyond the wood," Susan said skeptically.

"I did, in a manner of speaking. My ship-of-sorts landed there, and I thought I'd do a little exploring."

"Your ship," Peter asked. "Is there a sea beyond there?"

"It's a bit cold to be exploring for the fun of it," Susan grumbled, mostly to herself. Despite the furs they had taken from the cupboard, they were still shivering in the wintry chill that never left Narnia.

"I've answered your questions, now it's only fair you answer some of mine," the Doctor pointed out. "What're you three doing here, then? It's not safe for children to be out in this weather."

"We have no where else to go," Susan said before she could stop herself.

"We're looking for our brother, you see," Lucy said, ignoring the looks she received from Peter and Susan. "Oh, _do_ put your sword down, Peter. You're making me nervous."

After a pause, Peter lowered it, but only a fraction.

"Your brother," the Doctor asked. "What happened to him?"

"He got tricked," Lucy said. "We have to find him and get him back."

"But how," the Doctor asked. "If there are no other humans, how did you get here? And who took him?"

"The cupboard," Lucy said as though the answer were quite obvious while at the same time Peter and Susan replied, "The White Witch."

"Maybe," the Doctor said slowly, "you ought to come back with me. We can get warm and you can fill me in, if you'd like. Only no more sword-waving and yelling. I've told you, I don't like swords."

"But how do we know we can trust you," Peter asked.

"How do we know you aren't working for the witch," Susan said.

"Peter, it's _cold_," Lucy complained, pulling on the sleeve of his too-large coat. "What other choice have we got? We'll freeze if we don't find shelter soon."

"She may be right," Susan admitted reluctantly. "And maybe he can help us."

"I can try," the Doctor said cheerfully. "What do you say, Peter? Have we got a deal?"

Peter and the Doctor stared at each other for a long moment before Peter sheathed his sword. "Alright," Peter agreed finally. Lucy cheered and ran toward the Doctor, yanking Peter along behind him while Susan took up the rear, looking over her shoulder as though she felt something watching her before hurrying after her siblings and the Doctor.

When they reached the TARDIS, the children almost walked right past it at first. After all, they had never seen a police booth before and even if they had, they would not be expecting one in the middle of Narnia's great forests. But when the Doctor cleared his throat, Lucy was the first one to notice she was no longer following him and turned about, tripping Peter and nearly colliding with Susan, who exclaimed, "Lucy, really!"

"What's that," Lucy asked the Doctor, ignoring her sister and brother as they dusted the snow off their coats.

"My ship," the Doctor said.

"That's not a ship," Peter said doubtfully. Susan bit her lip.

"It's… a bit small," Susan said, choosing not to express her skepticism now that Peter had. After all, they had agreed to let the Doctor help him. It would have been rude to continue snubbing him at every turn.

"I suppose it is," the Doctor said breezily, leaning his shoulder against the door. "But do you want to see inside anyway," he asked.

"Yes," Lucy cried out with excitement before the other two could say anything. The Doctor grinned and pushed the door open.

"Go and see then," the Doctor encouraged her. She sprinted into the booth before either of her siblings. Peter and Susan hesitated outside the TARDIS until they heard Lucy cry out.

"Lu," Peter yelled. "You alright, Lu?"

"Lucy," Susan cried out, and both ran into the police box. The Doctor strolled in behind them. But when they got inside, Lucy was unhurt. She was circling around the interface, looking up at the ceiling that she could barely make out.

"It's-"

"Bigger on the inside," the Doctor guessed, cutting Susan off. "She gets that a lot."

"It's _amazing_," Lucy exclaimed, and the Doctor beamed proudly, patting the TARDIS's wall.

"She gets that a lot too."


End file.
